Controlling graphene plasmons with resonant metal antennas and spatial conductivity patterns

Abstract

Graphene plasmons promise unique possibilities for controlling light in nanoscale devices and for merging optics with electronics. Here we introduce a versatile platform technology based on resonant optical antennas and conductivity patterns for launching and controlling of propagating graphene plasmons, constituting an essential step for the development of graphene plasmonic circuits. We demonstrate the launching and focusing of infrared graphene plasmons with geometrically tailored antennas, and how they refract when passing through a 2-dimensional conductivity pattern, here a prism-shaped bilayer. To that end, we directly map the graphene plasmon wavefronts using an imaging method that will also benefit the testing of future design concepts for nanoscale graphene plasmonic circuits and devices